How do you keep track of new words?

Submitted by introvert_eng t3_10k9hhy in books

Hey everyone, I started reading books recently, thanks to Covid and read 7 books (very less compared to others but good to start with) last year. I read both hard copy as well as on Kindle. One problem when reading hard copies is remembering the new words. I generally Google the words for its meaning but then it is lost somewhere in the search history. Kindle has a build your own vocab feature so I go through all the words I have learnt but it is really hard for physical copies.

How you guys keep track of new words so you can also use them in daily life? I am Indian and English is my secondary language.

I have already received suggestions that you should take notes but it breaks the book reading flow.

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Turbulent-Worker7552 t1_j5p748d wrote

I think that you should not care to much about it, because it break your reading and make it less enjoyable. You will naturally learn the words by reading books.

You can still keep one ore two world in your mind, or write one or two somewhere and try to use them whenever you can for 2days (or more , or less, it is up to you)

I am saying this because I became quite disgusted by reading because I tried so hard to learn the vocabulary. Maybe it will not be your case

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introvert_eng OP t1_j5p7e6o wrote

Yeah I agree that it feels disgusted. I initially tried this but then my reading was really slow. I was just thinking if there is a middle ground and I have heard it from my friend who read alot that you just read and words will come to you naturally.

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Turbulent-Worker7552 t1_j5pda0f wrote

And remember, it is better and to not learn the world than not reading at all and still not leaning the words haha

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introvert_eng OP t1_j5pl9p7 wrote

Haha, looks like someone tried book reading really hard

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Turbulent-Worker7552 t1_j5plwwc wrote

Yup, I lost a lot of things during hight school and even before. Like curiosity, love of reading, opne mindedness... I am working on my self to win them back! It is quite hard but it is the most valuable thing that I ever did

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introvert_eng OP t1_j5pniir wrote

I'm sorry if I take that as a joke in last one. Best of luck for whatever you are trying to do and thanks for coming here and giving good ideas.

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InitiatePenguin t1_j5q1xvw wrote

>I think that you should not care to much about it, because it break your reading and make it less enjoyable.

If I'm reading a digital book and I come across a word I don't know, and not 100% sure if it's meaning with context clues I check the definition. In already "interrupted", it's only a click to highlight it.

I don't think it's much of an issue. People look up meanings to words all the time and it doesn't destroy people's enjoyment.

I then write them in a journal at a later point. But I don't make much effort to concertedly use them again.

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Turbulent-Worker7552 t1_j5q2tmt wrote

It is different if you read a book on paper, yes it is easier on a screen. And I'll never say that my answer is the only ansawer, there are as many point of view as readers

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Missy_Pixels t1_j5pqaq2 wrote

The rule I usually see for when you're reading in a second language is if you come across the same word you don't know five times, look it up. It's obviously important to the story and you'll be more likely to remember it. Otherwise it's better to absorb new words unconsciously by seeing them used in context. Read enough and you'll learn them naturally.

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introvert_eng OP t1_j5pqx74 wrote

Ahh nice one. As the word is used at multiple places in the story, I will anyway remember it. Thankyou

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jo0673 t1_j5ryjpw wrote

Writing important words down on paper can also help you to remember them. You will have a journal of important words that you can look at for definition and learn to use in conversation. And writing them actually helps your brain remember the word. Just try not to overwhelm yourself. That makes reading no fun 😊

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Ohiobo6294-2 t1_j5peerr wrote

Maybe not look up every word that stumps you which might get pretty tiresome. But at least look up some each time, especially ones that are critical to the story. And also ones you know you’ve looked up before but somehow forgotten. Over time you’ll find there are less and less words that are a problem.

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[deleted] t1_j5pgdi8 wrote

I don't think you need to maybe i am wrong but using the words that you know properly and express your ideas in the vocabulary that you know is always more valued and effective

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MountainSnowClouds t1_j5r1xds wrote

I just Google the definitions as I read and write them straight into the book.

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warhysterix t1_j5sjb6a wrote

I use apps like the free dictionary and dictionary.com . By creating an account you can save the words you have searched.

If I own the book, I write the definitions on the pages where I encounter the words and sometimes even do drawings.

It makes for very slow reading though. Hopefully I'll eventually reach a point where I don't feel the need to look up the words.

The annoying part of reading in a second language for me is that I usually don't know if the word is known by a majority of people. Reading in my native language I may stumble on a word I don't know and think : I'm positively certain that over 99% of people don't know that word so I don't see why I should.

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ricardo9505 t1_j5p6ffu wrote

Use the word.

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introvert_eng OP t1_j5p6mgn wrote

Yeah that's what I am asking that you read 100 words in a book but you can't remember all the words so how do I track those. I can start using 2 3 words but what about others.

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